Athens/Transcript
Transcript Text reads: The Mysteries of Life with Tim and Moby Tim and Moby leave a Greek theater. TIM: There was a lot of fighting in that play. Wow. Moby hands Tim a letter. Tim reads from the typed letter. TIM: Dear Tim and Moby, Tell me about Athens. From, Jenna. Um, okay. Athens is the capital of Greece. An image shows Athens on a map of Greece. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Yep, it's also where the modern Olympics began, and where the 2004 Summer Games were held. But, more than that, Athens has a really important past. A long time ago, Greece was divided up into city-states made of cities and their surrounding farmlands. Athens was one of them. An map shows the city-states of Delphi, Thebes, Corinth, and Sparta, along with Athens around 500 BCE. TIM: Athens emerged as a center for art, literature, and philosophy, between 460 BCE and 429 BCE, a time known as the Golden Age. Images illustrate the different disciplines Tim mentions. TIM:It was also one of the most powerful city-states, thanks to its charismatic leader, Pericles. An image shows Pericles. TIM: The Athenians liked him so much, they elected him again and again until he finally died in 429 BCE. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Yep. Every city-state governed itself, and Athens was special because it chose a democratic form of government. Athenian citizens served on law courts and councils, sharing power amongst themselves. An image shows Athenian men at a council meeting. TIM:Under Pericles' leadership, Athens built up its defending wall and its navy. An image shows ships in the Athenian navy. TIM: That came in handy when they had to fight a war with the neighboring city-state of Sparta. But Pericles wasn't all about making Athens a military powerhouse; he also wanted to make it beautiful. The Parthenon and the Temple of Athena were built under his command. Images show the Parthenon and the Temple of Athena. TIM:Famous philosophers like Socrates and Plato set the standard for Western thought. An image shows a rendering of the famous painting, the Death of Socrates. TIM:They argued their points in the center of town, called the agora. An image shows two men arguing in the agora. TIM:Theater was a huge part of Athenian life. An image shows actors on stage performing in a play. TIM: Twice a year they held festivals for the god Dionysus where plays were shown for four straight days, and everybody went. Women got to leave their home duties behind. And even prisoners were released from jail to go to the festival. An animation shows a woman setting aside a broom she had been using to sweep. An image shows two prisoners leaving being freed for the festival. TIM: Greek playwrights like Aeschylus and Sophocles wrote plays that are still performed to this day. Images show Aeschylus and Sophocles. TIM: Life was not all about intellectual stuff. Athenians also believed that physical fitness was just as important as mental fitness. I guess that's part of why the Olympics started there. An image shows two Athenian men playing with a ball. MOBY: Beep. TIM: That's a good point. All of these cool things; philosophers arguing in the streets, acting in plays, voting for leaders, hanging out at the gym; they were for men only. Women's and girls' roles were to stay at home to take care of the household and raise children. Going to plays was the exception to the rule. An image shows a woman cleaning and another woman holding a baby. MOBY: Beep? TIM: You want to go see a play every weekend? Sure, but um...next time, maybe we should go see a comedy. Category:BrainPOP Transcripts